Be Still My Heart
by Fallen Angel Of The Forgotten
Summary: "All good things must come to an end." Tsuna graduates from his years as Reborn's student, and promptly gets shot. Reborn takes action. Slight 27R.


**Prompt: **Reborn/Tsuna - Graduation; "You're no longer under my wing."

**Summary: "**All good things must come to an end." Tsuna graduates from his years as Reborn's student, and promptly gets shot. Reborn takes action.

Be Still My Heart

It was almost impossible to believe, even for a first-class hitman like him. His student, the long-time dubbed 'Dame-Tsuna' was finally graduating – both in the sense of legal schooling and illegal schooling. He had passed the Exit Exam with flying colors; his mother had promptly announced they were having a huge party once the ceremony was over and invited all his friends. Naturally, Gokudera and the other Guardians passed as well. In addition to that, Lambo was finally starting middle school – a feat that was made twice as glorious by the fact that he had finally outgrown his grenade-throwing and Bazooka-using phases, although he was still a bit of a crybaby.

Reborn tucked his hand into his jacket pocket, feeling the small box-shaped gift he held. It was the very last gift he would give Tsuna as his tutor – well, actually the very last he would give him at all. With the Ninth stepping down, the contract holding Reborn to the Vongola was now expired, and the hitman was free to pursue his own interests. With that in mind, Reborn tried to ignore the painful constriction in his chest at the thought of leaving Tsuna. His student was graduating – it should be a happy time.

On the stage, the school's 'principal' had finally finished up his shaky speech (Reborn noticed he kept throwing apprehensive glances over to where Hibari sat, already half asleep and surrounded by his Discliplinary Committee - who were already high schoolers, but still insisted on following him everywhere). Beside him, Nana squealed quietly and tried to hold her joy in as the class rose from their seats, ready to receive their diplomas. Lambo and I-pin cheered as one by one the kids came up, grasping the diploma and freezing in place long enough for a picture to be taken.

They were going by first name rather than last as it had been in previous years (rumor held that Hibari wasn't content with waiting for all the other H people to finish, he wanted his diploma in his hand so he could get out of there quickly) and so Tsuna was one of the last remaining students to get his. Personally Reborn thought the students should have just been given their diplomas and allowed to go home.

_But then again, this is your last time together, isn't it? It's normal that you would want it to be over quick. _An obnoxiously correct voice in the back of his mind stated. Reborn mentally shot the voice to death before turning his attention back to the stage.

Hibari's name had been called; Kusakabe took the diploma while Hibari contented himself with glaring at the principal. The poor little man trembled under the prefect's gaze and hastily moved on to the next name, nearly choking on his own tongue in his desire to get away from the prefect. Hibari tucked the piece of paper away and went back to lazily watching the procession with one eye open.

Down the list they went, each student receiving a hearty round of applause as they blushed and laughed and took their seats again. Reborn sighed through his nose and tried not to become irritated. Around his neck, Leon flicked his tongue and caught one of the many bugs flying around them. The return to his adult body had given Leon his full form as well; needless to say Reborn had received quite a few stares as he took his seat on the bleachers. He was easy to spot in the mass of normal clothes; Reborn was wearing his best Armani suit and fedora. He'd already caught a couple of the women giving him speculative looks, heard a few teenagers whispering that he must have been the rich uncle Mochida-sempai kept talking about.

Reborn fought not to chuckle at that. He supposed one could say he was a rich uncle of sorts – but not of Mochida. _It makes me wonder how the girls will react when they see whose uncle I'm pretending to be. _Even after so many years, Dame-Tsuna's reputation was still a mean one, and girls more than not avoided him, although most agreed he was a very nice boy. Reborn would shatter that reputation tonight with a few well-placed words and actions, and Tsuna's last lingering problem would be swept away. And then Reborn would leave.

It wasn't anything personal, to be sure. Tsunayoshi was a good boy, if not a bit dense at times, and would make a much better man and an even better boss. Reborn would have been honored to serve under him, either as the voice of reason, or as a protector. But the terms of the Ninth's contract with him were clear; once the contract was gone, he would have to vacate from the Vongola House and pretend he knew nothing of them. A few years ago, that might not have been so hard, but now…

Well, he and Tsuna's relationship was hardly that of a traditional teacher and student – at least it hadn't been, not after everything that had happened. If he really wanted to put a time to when things changed between them, he'd have to say it had first started back in the future, when Reborn hadn't been able to follow Tsuna everywhere and had left a large portion of the work to Tsuna, who was alone and easily panicked by everything he saw. Tsuna had gotten a grip on his panic with Reborn's help, but their relationship had changed.

Being apart from his student, being forced to watch him through video cameras and talk to him through a small mic with thousands of miles between them… it had made Reborn feel like he was talking to an equal being, or an ally, rather than a student who was being held hostage and trying to perfect the X-burner. And then later, when they had gotten back from the future, almost at once the whole Shimon incident had gone on, and the Representation War had followed shortly after that. It had spiraled out of control as soon as they had gone to the future, and it had kept evolving, partially to Reborn's chagrin, who felt like his grip on Tsuna – which had always been so iron tight – was slipping.

And now here he was, watching his student (_ex student, _some part of him whispered) graduate from high school with a grade point average that was decent, smiling and laughing with his friends just before he said goodbye to the regular, normal, safe world for good. The knowledge was bittersweet; Reborn's smile portrayed the feeling well as his head lowered, eyes shielded by the fedora.

"Sawada Tsunayoshi!"

And up his head came again, as the sound of his student's name was called. Hayato and the others cheered while Tsuna grinned and made his way up to the stage, reaching forward with his left hand to grab the diploma while opening his mouth to give his thanks—

_**BANG!**_

Reborn was not a man that was easily frightened. He was, after all a hitman. He lived for death, was a harbinger of it, and had seen the darkest side society had to offer.

Yet when he heard that noise, his heart stopped cold in his chest. At the sight of Tsuna's face going white, the teen stumbling back and pressing a hand to his lips to stop the sudden crimson flood (although it did no good) while he looked down at the rapidly-growing red spot on his white robe, a few mere tick marks away from his heart, Reborn felt something inside himself scream. And when Tsuna looked up to where he sat, eyes drooping, Reborn felt a wave of familiar fury encompass him. Suddenly it wasn't his former student looking up at him, it was his student; weak and small and so very afraid.

_Why, Reborn? Why now? _The eyes asked. And then Tsuna was tipping back onto the grass, blood flowing from his lips as the people around him screamed, suddenly realizing what had occurred.

By the time Hayato and the others rose from their seats Reborn already had his gun out and was rushing towards where the attacker had come from, straightening his arm and letting the bullets fly. A man went down, a gun flying from his glove-clad hand. Reborn kicked it away before putting his own gun away and rushing back to his student's fallen body.

Ryohei and Hayato and the other Guardians were already there, Hayato tearing his robe and shirt off and bundling them up before pressing them over the wound, shouting at Ryohei to _hold them there, don't let up on the pressure, _while Takeshi and the others tried to hold back the adults and fellow classmates that were suddenly there, wanting to see, wanting to help, even though in the end they couldn't do anything except take pictures and gasp and cry—

Reborn was not an idle man. He was an active being, and the sight of his student bleeding out (_so small, so young, so frail, so scared) _in the grass propelled him forward to shove aside people, ignoring cries of complaint. He knelt, checking the teen's pulse while he ordered in a sharp no-nonsense voice that had been used on Tsuna since day one, "Dame Tsuna, open your goddamned eyes and look at me."

And Tsuna did. It took effort, but he did. His eyes fluttered open and found Reborn, and held his black gaze while the man shed his black suit and threw the flimsy garments Hayato had been using to keep the wound sealed away. Speaking in Italian to Tsuna, he said, _"My clothes are made from Leon's fibers; they can hold a lot more blood than those can."_

The three boys nodded, understanding. Then, again in Italian, he said, _"I can't use my Flame here, nor can Ryohei. I'm going to carry you to hide the light while Hayato calls for a car. We'll get you to the hospital, and go from there. Understand?"_

Tsuna nodded, wincing as he reached forward with his arms. Reborn gently shifted the boy forward, pressing their bodies as close together as possible before standing. Tsuna's breathing was raspy in his ear, yet it was slow and concise, and his fingers dug into his tutor's shoulders while one of Reborn's hands splayed on the boy's back, showing just how hard Tsuna was trying to stay awake and obey Reborn's orders.

Reborn meanwhile, focused on reaching inside his mind where the Flame of his resolution was the brightest; drawing on it, he channeled it towards the wound on Tsuna's body, spinning it out like a thick web to burn out any infection and heal the torn flesh. Seconds later a bright light blazed between them, muffled by their bodies. Hayato was barking orders into a phone while he and the other Guardians strode behind Reborn, struggling to keep up with Reborn's long-legged pace even after all these years.

A black, plate less care was waiting for them at the entrance of the school; at the sight of the coming Guardians, the door opened to reveal Dino, who looked pale-faced in an entirely different way. He scooted over to make room for Reborn, who laid Tsuna out the long way, the boy's head in Dino's lap while he pressed his hands over the wound and ordered more Flame into the wound. Tsuna's breathing was getting better, he realized as the Guardians piled into the car, the doors slamming shut just before Romario took off at a hellish pace, pressing everyone in the car in their seats with his speed.

In the five minutes it took to get them to the hospital run by the mafia, Reborn had already ordered Hayato to make four phone calls, one to explain to Iemitsu what had happened, one to notify the Ninth of the man that had shot Tsuna, one to the hospital to be ready for when they drew up, and one to the school to make a plausible excuse for why Tsuna was dragged away by a strange man in a fedora and suit before they could call a hospital.

When they clambered out of the car several men and women were already waiting with a stretcher. Tsuna was carefully laid on it, strapped in, and then taken away while Reborn and the others made themselves comfortable on the cheap plastic seats and waited for news.

* * *

Two hours later, news reached them that the man responsible for Tsuna's shooting had been found, his body recovered, and the Family he belonged to was currently being torn apart by the Varia. Iemitsu had called back to say that he would be there in a few hours, since he was currently trying to keep Nana from going absolutely batshit insane (Reborn's words, not Iemitsu's) and going after the man who had hurt her baby with a broom. The school had returned the call as well, and expressed concern over Tsunayoshi's conditions, well-wishes for his recovery and an understanding and grateful thanks to the professional doctor that had been there to carry Tsuna away (aka Reborn).

However, it wasn't until nearly midnight that they got any news regarding Tsunayoshi.

The doctor came in with bloody scrubs and an exhausted look on his face, and nodded once at Reborn, who was already standing (he had been leaning against the wall since they'd gotten there, and hadn't moved an inch) and waiting for the news.

"He'll recover," the doctor said, looking Reborn square in the eyes. "He's going to be moving a bit slower for the next couple of weeks, but he'll survive. The bullet just grazed his heart – if it had been any closer, he would have bled out regardless of what you'd done. He's a very fortunate young man."

"Yes he is." Reborn agreed, and then, seeing the Guardians wide awake and wanting to see Tsuna, asked, "Is he able to have visitors?"

The doctor grimaced. "I think one tonight should be okay, but he needs his rest, so only for about five minutes or so. Tomorrow he should be off the anesthesia and able to speak more clearly. He's in room 22A."

Reborn nodded, and without asking moved past the doctor, climbing the stairs to the A corridor and the going down three hallways to the correct room. The room was a simple baby blue, with pale curtains and a single bed in it. Tsuna looked sound asleep when Reborn walked in, but Reborn knew Tsuna's sense were too sharp to allow him to sleep with someone else in the room for very long. So he dragged one of the more comfortable chairs over to his side and waited, petting Leon and letting him explore the hospital bed in the meantime.

Tsuna slowly came around, blinking dark eyes first at the ceiling and then turning his head to look at Reborn, who stared right back. A small, weary smile came onto the boy's face. "Just my luck, huh Reborn?" he murmured, "I finally get through high school, I almost get my diploma, and I get shot." He chuckled, although it quickly turned into a cough before settling back down.

Reborn still didn't say anything, merely watched his student. His mind was slowly running through the facts of the evening coolly, methodically going over everything, and was quickly coming to a very ugly conclusion. A conclusion that, if Tsuna had been healthy, would have earned him a beating. As it was, Reborn merely leaned back, fingers laced together.

"You did this on purpose, didn't you?" He asked, quiet, "You got shot _on purpose, _although I'm not sure why."

Tsuna blinked at him, expression folding into confusion. Reborn lifted a finger, demanding silence. "Your Hyper Intuition has proved time and time again you know when you're in danger. Even if that sniper had been on a building, you would have felt the crosshairs on your body, and moved out of the way. But you didn't. Why?"

Now the confusion was fading, morphing into something calmer, something simple. Reborn merely waited. There was a feeling in his chest now, something tight and unyielding. Fear, the hitman realized; it was the same feeling that had been present in his chest during the War, when Tsuna had gone up against Bermuda, and very nearly died as a result. It had been a by-the-skin-of-his-teeth survival; if Tsuna hadn't been nearly so stubborn, and so completely devoted to his job of fixing Reborn, of saving his tutor, then he would have died.

That same feeling lurking in his chest now, taking over him, told him that this had been yet another close call; one that couldn't have been avoided.

"The Ninth called me the other day," Tsuna began, looking out the window, avoiding Reborn's gaze, "and he told me that along with my coronation, I would have to pick an advisor. When I told him I had you, he informed me that your contract expired with my rising as Vongola Tenth."

Reborn blinked. "And?"

The young man turned his head, and suddenly there was something in his eyes, something dark and powerful, almost ancient. Looking at those eyes made something in Reborn's stomach do flip-flops, and not the good kind either.

"I would have thought it obvious by now, Reborn. I honestly don't know if you're playing me for a fool, or if you just aren't paying attention. So let me enlighten you. You. Are. _**Mine.**_ My tutor, my friend, _my _ally. No one has a right to take you away from me. Bermuda tried and failed. Checkerface bargained and lost. I didn't allow either of them to stand in my way, what makes you think something like a _contract _is going to?"

When Reborn gave no reply, didn't move a muscle, Tsuna sat up and leaned back, looking less like a weary patient now and more like a patient boss who had just ensnared a particularly juicy rabbit. "I told the Ninth that I wouldn't stand for it. I asked him what it would take, to get you as _my _advisor. He told me that a new contract had to be made. One based on blood, on sacrifice, and on devotion. You and I have all three things, Reborn. We've shed blood, we've sacrificed, and I'm devoted enough to you to follow you anywhere you go, obey anything you say. I've _been _devoted for all these years. I thought maybe you knew that, but apparently not."

He slid a glance over at Reborn, who sat stiff, head bowed while he gripped the arms of his chair. "You never showed any interest to return the gesture, so I thought you hated me. But something kept nagging me, telling me you didn't hate me. So I decided to test it, and if I died, well." Tsuna shrugged.

Reborn was shocked. For the first time in a long time – not since Luce had he felt this shocked. Some part of his mind knew exactly what Tsuna was talking about, and was screaming _yes, yes, make the contract! _The rest of him however, was caught somewhere between white noise and absolutely silence, unable to make up its mind where it wanted to go.

He swallowed and decided to go for broke. "How long? How long have you been planning this?"

Tsuna folding his fingers in his lap and looked at him. Reborn couldn't help but feel like he was looking at his boss, rather than his student, when he did that. "About two years, give or take a few months."

Two years. _Two years… _"And you didn't bring it up sooner because…?"

"I thought you were being stubborn. Or, as I've said before, you hated me. I assumed my desire to defeat Bermuda and free you all made it abundantly clear."

"The only thing it made clear was that you were too damn stubborn to stop, and let me die!" Reborn snapped, suddenly feeling on-edge. He had been cornered, he realized, cornered by a boy that shouldn't have even been able to touch his shadow, and yet had suddenly gotten so close. The only way out was submission, or truth. Neither were particularly comfortable for Reborn, but he knew as did any man in the mafia that this was how the game was played. Play the game or die. Relent or suffer. Submit or dominate.

"I told you, Reborn, I won't let you die." Tsuna murmured, closing his eyes to signal his weariness. "I'm tired of beating around the bush when it comes to you. I don't want to dance around subjects or have to throw myself in front of bullets to prove a point."

"I don't want that either. Particularly the bullet part." Reborn replied, feeling some of the edge back away. "I liked it better when you listened to me, instead of running around and doing whatever you want."

Tsuna chuckled softly. "Yes, I imagine that was better for you. But Reborn, I can't go back to being that person, no matter how much you'd like it. So please, answer me. Will you stay beside me? As my advisor?"

And now they had gone through all the finer points, and were back to the original reason for all of this. Reborn felt himself tense. Could he? Could he stay beside Tsuna, and keep him safe and protected? Could he stand there and watch as Tsuna put himself in danger, and be the voice of reason in the times when the boy lost his temper or freaked out?

Memories of the young boy he had once been swarmed his head, and that was the end of his decision. Sighing out of his nose, he slid from his chair and down onto one knee, slipping his fedora off as he took the hand that bore the Vongola ring in his own and kissed it, before allowing his eyes to meet Tsuna's own, and mirror back the victory shining in them.

"Stupid Tsuna, why even bother asking?"


End file.
